My Heart In Your Hands
by Karasea
Summary: Rewriting Shounenai! When Joey is hurt by his father, he tries to run away from it all. What will happen when he is found by an unexpected someone? Warning for mature and dark themes
1. It Begins

_AN: Well, this is the new and improved version of my old 'master-piece'. I looked back at it and I couldn't help but wince, so I decided to start over again. I hope you enjoy this version as much as you may have done the first!_

_Disclaimer: Yu-gi-oh does not belong to me, yet the plot does! This disclaimer counts towards the entire fic, not just this chapter._

_Reviews are loved!_

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**Joey's point of view**

He's gone! I start to get up from the floor but wince from the pain that flows throughout my sore body, but especially in my thighs and lower regions. Damn that old man of mine... I walk out of the bathroom, supporting myself on the door and walls wherever I can and manage to get down the stairs without too much difficulty, even though I stumbled once or twice.

I listen cautiously for any movement that could indicate His return. Nothing. Ignoring the pain, I grab my trusty jacket quickly before darting out of the door and heading out into the night.

I pick up my pace and start to sprint lightly, not caring where I go as long as it's away. Away from this place, away from Him, away from it all.

Soon I start to reach an area that I deem far enough to rest. For now. He'll come looking for me eventually… then the whole damn thing will start over again. I give a dry chuckle before settling on a bench under some huge oak trees and getting lost in my memories.

_**---Flashback--**_

As soon as I heard the door slam shut I knew I was in trouble, I knew that He had a huge problem with drinking from experiance, I also knew that it made Him quite violent.. Scrambling up, I grabbed my homework and hid it under the tattered sofa before backing quickly into the corner, hoping to be overlooked. Usually I'd never be such a coward, but when now it couldn't really be helped. No such luck for me tonight though, that was the first place He checked.

Even from a distance I could smell the stench of the alcohol on His breath, another wave of panic rushing through me.

He smirked dangerously, and before I could react I was sent sprawling to the ground several feet away by his booted foot. Darting forwards before I even had a chance to recover, He jerked me up by the hair and threw me into the wall by the door. Holding me up by the throat, He lent in close before whispering huskily into my ear.

"I've had a bad day, SON." He sneered, tightening his grip until I was sure it would bruise. I closed my eyes slowly, growling softly under my breath and struggling as best as I could, "So why don't we just be a good boy today and not make a fuss?"

It wasn't a question. It was a statement, a command. I shook my head slightly and scowled at him, almost choking but managing to get my answer out, "Never! You sick son of a bitch! I'm not just gonna lay down and-" I was cut off by a punch in the face, surprising me to say the least. My nose had almost broken on impact and was gushing with blood, sending my senses spinning. I could hardly see, but I knew that this was only the beginning.

Taking advantage of my inability to think coherently, He picked me and tossed me up the stairs, grinning madly. He dragged me over to one of the rooms and I tensed immediately. It was His bedroom. He was going to rape me!

Before I could think to struggle more than I already was, I found myself being slung into the concrete wall just above the headboard, stunning me once again.

Even though he was drunk, my father' was incredibly quick and strong. As soon as my body hit the old, rickety mattress he was on me again. Grabbing my wrists tightly, He tied them securely to the headboard to make sure that I couldn't escape. I winced as they immediately started rubbing at my wrists, having some kind of wire threaded into them.

_**((Skipping forwards, skipping, skipping...))**_

I heard the front door slam and the room shook slightly from the impact of the wood on the doorframe. Heh... I always knew that this place was likely to fall apart any minute. pulling myself up exhaustedly, I rolled off the bed, having had my wrists freed. I allowed myself to fall to the floor but caught myself weakly just before, deciding that adding to the pain I was going through was not such a good idea.

I crawled to the bathroom to clean myself up as best I could, my blond bangs flopping limply in my eyes. When I completed task one I set about putting the rest of my clothes back on, gasping in pain when the material rubbed against the now bandaged wounds.

I sighed heavily and leaned against the side of the bath. That was the third time that week, and it seemed to be getting worse and worse. It had never been like this before! Sure, He had always been pretty abusive when he was out of it because of His stupid drinks, but nothing like this...

_**End flashback**_

I had been laying down on the bench while I went through the memory in my head, my amber eyes open but unseeing as I stared past the sky, unable tohelp myself. A movement from the corner startles me from my thoughts and I flinch by accident, jerking myself upright into a sitting position by reflex

The figure sits down nearby slowly, still in the shadows. I'm getting more nervous by the second. Who the hell is this person?

"Wh- who?" I manage to stutter out, cursing the day I became so weak. Maybe Kaiba's right? I am a little puppy... Breathing hard and tensing even more, I watch the figure carefully and apprehensivey.

The stranger shifts himself, a glitter of gold catching in the faint light of the nearby lamp-post that lit this part of the park.

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_AN: Sorry guys, cliffhanger! Can you guess who it is yet?_

_:3 Even though I know many of you have read this before, I hope some of you can find it in your hearts to review and tell me what you think of the rewrites. I'll get chapter 2 done as soon as I can! Review?_


	2. Madness

_AN: Second chapter now up! Thanks to all of my reviewers for...well, reviewing! o Heh heh... So anyway! Thanks go out to:_

_**Lilrubydevil**_

_**Flame Swordswoman**_

_**Kaibasbabe**_

_**Saphira's Ember**._

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**Madness **

Joey noticed with a vague, but at the same time huge sensation in the pit of his stomach that the area around the bench had chilled by several degrees upon the arrival of the stranger, who was still hidden in the shadows just out of reach of the shimmery light that was ever-so-slightly obscured by a cool mist. Reacting purely by instinct, he shuffled back as far as he could, eventually hitting the wooden arm of the bench.

The stranger chuckled softly, "You have no reason to fear me."

Immediately Joey froze, recognizing the voice and matching it to the owner immediately. It was Malik, of all people! Of all the people that could catch him now it just **had** to be one of the only people who he truly feared, not counting his 'father', of course. But... He did say not to fear him... Shaking his head quickly to himself, Joey resisted the urge to smack his head against something hard and heavy. He **knew** that he couldn't trust that guy! Oh, sure he'd forgiven him for what happened during Battle City, but that didn't mean he trusted him! Not as far as he could throw him. Nope. Not that mind-controlling, egotistical, arrogant, cocky... Person.

He hesitated before replying, seriously hoping that he wasn't going to make a mistake that could cost him his life (because lets face it, he felt dead enough as it was), more of his precious blood (Which, undeniably, he was fast running out of) or just plain regret it, "W-what do you want? If you want to hurt me go ahead and get it over with..." He muttered softly, his voice slightly hoarse and croaky. He said nothing more, shifting myself nervously and keeping his amber eyes carefully averted.

Instead of answering, Malik merely sat down at the other end of the bench slowly, leaning back and tipping his head back so that he could gaze at the sky. A small smirk was dancing across his lips, but at the same time there was the faintest glitter in his eyes that foretold something else, which Joey only would have noticed had he not being staring at a tree, which he had somehow managed to almost convince himself to think of as incredibly interesting. Mentally though, Joey still panicked, going even stiller than he had been before and squeezing his eyes shut.

"You do realize that it quite possibly isn't a good idea for you to be out here, right?" Malik enquired after a while, having chosen to ignore the fact that Joey had actually asked him a question first, his tone ever so slightly cool.

"..." Joey didn't reply for the longest time, knotting his eyebrows together, "I have nowhere else to go," he said at last, surprising both himself and the Egyptian boy who was now openly lounging on his seat, clearly not at all bothered by the darkness. He didn't exactly appreciate the coldness of the weather, but at the moment he was too intent on focussing on what was happening in the present situation.

The other raised a pale blond eyebrow slightly, his head cocked to the side slighty, "You have a home, do you not? And your father," The eyebrow raised itself a little higher when Malik thought he sensed Joey jerk a little, like a puppy caught in the headlights of a car with its tail between its legs, "Unless of course. you have left?"

Unable to help himself, Joey snorted softly, his usually bright eyes dulled and almost life-like in appearance, "I'm not going back," he whispered softly. It was almost to himself, but he could tell that Malik had heard him. Once again he was surprising himself. Why the **hell** was he even TALKING to this insane freak, let alone saying things like this!

Unbidden, he continued talking, his voice adopting a tone of hysteria as his volume raised slightly with every word he uttered, "I'm not... I'm not going back... I REFUSE TO GO BACK THERE WITH HIM!" he screamed, reaching up to grip at his hair. It was as if every emotion he had felt since... things had started happen had manifested themselves suddenly, mostly as rage, frustration and ultimately, hatred towards his father. What if the same thing happened to Serenity as was happening to him?

He had realized that he was screaming now, having felt his throat tear slightly and the blood well up, staining his lips crimson and dripping slowly down his chin and onto the ground. Continuing with the agonized sounds, he jumped at the nearest thing he could reach and proceeded to tear it to pieces, yelling at it in anguish as if it was its fault.

Unfortunately for Joey, trapped in his hazed mind as he was, he didn't realize that he had actually attacked Malik.

"Snap out of it, Wheeler!" Malik growled dangerously, grabbing the hysterical boy's wrists in a vice-grip and pushing him off. Physically, he was practically Joey's equal in strength, but not this time. Now he was actually having more than a bit of difficulty holding the other off, and it was quite frankly getting on his nerves, especially as it didn't seem that anything he was saying was getting through to the fool.

Growling under his breath as Joey continued to try and maul him like some kind of rabid dog, Malik grabbed hold of the Millennium Rod and concentrated briefly, easily seizing control of the other's mind and gripping onto it tightly. He could feel Joey struggling against it violently, but heh, he was innocent. He had an excuse for this afterall!

Managing a soft snarl under his breath before his mind was completely overtaken, Joey shuddered violently in his mind, hating the feeling of the control. It had been like icy water cascading over him at first, as tendrils of power and wrapped themselves around his mind. The feeling had quickly turned into something more like his entire body turning into candy-floss as his senses were numbed completely, blocking out the beserk anger that had previously been controlling his actions.

He 'felt' his wrists being let go slowly and opened his eyes slowly, having realized that he still had control over them, staring up into Malik's cold, piercing violet eyes. Gradually he felt the numbness seep away, allowing him to move once again. He didn't though, too scared to at the moment. Joey couldn't put it past him. Malik **seemed** almost as bad as he had during Battle City, afterall. He knew how hard it was to shake off old habits and almost an entire personality, not something that would happen overnight, or even, in this case, two months.

"You have nowhere to go?" He inquires bluntly, the eyebrow raising itself slightly again. Sitting back slightly, he tapped the Rod against his knee as he waited for Joey's reply, even though he knew what it would be. Regardless of what the other boy said, he wouldn't be going back to that excuse for a 'home' he had been living in before. Oh no, Malik had better plans than that. A plan that he intended to put into motion very, very soon indeed.

His lips twitching up into a small smirk when he saw Joey nod, Malik abruptly pulled himself to his feet, dragging the exhausted Joey with him as he hooked the other boy's arm over his shoulder in order to keep him from collapsing. He really didn't feel like carrying the puppy half-way across the city just because said puppy could barely even stand without his knees buckling inwards, "You're coming with me, in that case," he snickered, starting to walk out of the park slowly.

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_Small cliffhanger! 3 Review, please? It will make me a very happy person, and will also make me want to type the next chapter up faster for you guys!_

_And yes, I know that I use a mix of dub and sub names. That's because I prefer some over others in the case of this story. : )_


	3. Insane Rationality

**_AN-_** _Meep! I'm so sorry this took me so long to write! o.o; My excuses are simply that I'm rather behind in copying up my History courseowkr and I have an English Lit essay to write. XD_

_Thankyou so much to everyone who has reviewed, and to those who read without reviewing, please tell me what you think.:3 It would be so appreciated. I'll have more of an incentive to continue..._

_Many special thanks to:_

**PunkerPrincess  
A lilmatchgirl  
Leftovercrack  
T.Lei  
Flame Swordswoman  
Santurian3  
Lilrubydevil**

**_DISCLAIMER: Yu-gi-oh and its characters belonging to me is like trying to convince cows that dogs are made of cheese. Or more simply; I don't own it._**

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The first thing that Joey noticed when he woke up was a distinct lack of a shirt... But more importantly than that, there was an equally noticeable lack of the usual stink that floated around the place, brought about by his _father's _oh so wonderful drinking and smoking habits. Were those bandages wrapped around his wounds? To put it bluntly, the blond teenager was rather confused. Slowly, he allowed his amber eyes to flicker open, blinking against the seemingly harsh light. 

"Joseph?" A soft, musical voice enquired from just to the right of him. Blinking again to try and clear his foggy mind, he turned his head slightly... and promptly blinked again. _This _certainly wasn't someone he expected to see sitting in his apartment!

"I-Isis?" He croaked, his voice dry from his earlier episode and from the lack of water he had been able to drink recently, "Where am I?" Considering the factors he had already noticed, he had finally deduced that he wasn't at his own place. It just served to confuse him all the more though. Why had Malik dragged him over here? The Egyptian didn't really have any reason to, especially not after the events of Battle City. He knew that Joey didn't either like nor trust him, not yet, anyway.

Isis couldn't help a gentle smile as she answered, for all her worry about what her often rebellious little brother was up to, "You're at my house. Malik brought you." She paused for a second and sighed, shaking her head slightly. She was clearly rather perplexed. Then again, who would have blamed her? She had no idea as to what was happening, and indeed... what would soon happen, "I enquired as to why, but he left without answering me."

"R-really? He didn't say a thing?" Joey stammered, pushing himself up slowly on his elbowed. His head was swimming and he ached all over... All he longed for was a nice, peaceful rest. Rest would be nice... Eternally, maybe? Then he wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore. Not his father, nothing. But then... What about his sister? What about Yug' and Tristan? Heck, what about Kaiba! It still sounded nice though... To escape all the pain that he had gone through... Never before would he have thought such things, but it would soon be clear to everyone involved how much his home life had affected the boy.

Vaguely he noticed a steadily growing concern in Isis' eyes. Why was she looking at him like that! He wasn't an animal in a zoo! Mumbling a soft curse to himself, he winced as he sat up properly on the plush leather sofa. His head... Spinning again... He could feel the tidal wave of emotions creeping up again, threatening to overwhelm him as they had done hours before. Damnit! He couldn't... not again. The madness wouldn't be beaten back a second time, not easily... And he couldn't hurt Isis, subconsciously he knew this. Heh... Malik would probably tear him apart.

"Joseph?" She asked softly, watching him with her usual steady gaze. How could she remain so calm when she could clearly see the growing turmoil in his eyes she didn't know, but that was her way... It always had been, and she doubted it would change, "What is wrong? I can't help you if you don't tell me."

Taking a deep breath, Joey tried desperately to quench the feelings of annoyance and loathing (both of himself and others) that was trying to drown his rationality. He had suddenly found himself with another irk... People asking too many questions about things that don't concern them! Rationality having been thrown out of the closest window, he dragged himself to his feet and stared down at the young woman, swaying uncertainly on his weak legs.

"Oh, I can tell you how to help me all right..." he muttered, just loud enough for her to hear. If he had been completely with it, he would have noticed the weary slur in his still hoarse voice.

"Tell me how, then," Isis prodded calmly, standing up also. Worry was starting to build up even more now, but also there was concern for what would happen when Malik came back home from wherever he had wandered off to... She knew that she could have used his help in this, for all his impatience.

"Let me go to the toilet." It was a strange request, but it wasn't so strange to the one who had uttered it. He just hoped that she wouldn't ask anymore questions and would just give him an answer... He didn't have long before he collapsed again, he could tell that. His brain felt like mush and his legs were worse, barely strong enough to keep him upright.

He watched as she seemed to ponder over whether or not she should let him go. She hoped she would... before it was too late and he either snapped or passed out. If he did either, he would never be able to finish it all! He swayed again and winced, the pounding in his head intensifying.

He almost sighed with relief when she finally gave her response, helping him towards the door, "It is the first on the left at the top of the stairs," she directed, watching as the teenager- so similar to her brother and yet so different, stumbled out of the room and down the hallway.

She was giving away none of her doubts, having noticed how her questions from earlier had bothered him. In his state, she decided that she would rather not cause him anymore distress, for all the good it would do.

Repeating the directions to himself in his head,_ First left top of stairs..._, Joey used the wall for support as he slowly stumbled his way along, pausing momentarily every few minutes or so in order to get a short rest. His numb legs were burning with pain that was acute enough for him to actually feel it, and this alerted what was left of his consciousness that he was going to have to move fast if he wanted to complete what he had set out to do... But he couldn't do it, could he..? No.. He **had** to do it!

Finally he reached his destination and pushed the door open, dragging himself inside the small room and locking it behind him. He paid no attention to the features of the place; its baby blue walls and white marble surfaces, instead homing in on the cupboard that he had been looking for. Hopefully what he needed would be in there... Hopefully. Gripping the handle of the cupboards handle, Joey pulled it open and fumbled around inside, swaying once again. The pain was intensifying steadily...

"Got ya.." he mumbled weakly, grasping a small box as he limped over to the large bath. He sat down heavily, not really having enough strength left to lower himself down gently or the likes. _I don't have any more time... _He realized, taking a shallow, rasping breath as he pulled the box open, his long, very lightly tanned fingers trembling.

_This is it..._ he thought to himself, _This is for my friends... So they don't haveta worry about babying me anymore... This is for me, so I don't haveta deal with **him** anymore..._ His trembling increasing, he pulled out one of the smaller, slimmer objects, gripping it tightly between his fingers, _Heh... I hope Isis doesn't get blamed for this... Its nothin' to do with her._ For a few brief seconds, his mind clearing for the first time in ages, he found himself grateful for the young woman's help.

_And the rest of my friends... You've all helped me so much. Just wish I could say bye. Ah well..._

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_**AN-** Once again, my apologies for the lateness, and indeed the shortness!_


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